Investigations and forensics tools capture the public imagination like no other sector of law enforcement. No small number of popular movies and television shows take advantage of this fascination, regularly grabbing viewers’ minds and eyes with bad-guy-nabbing bells and whistles.

However, as law enforcement professionals know, just because it’s on television doesn’t mean it’s at the local police station. That simple fact—dubbed the CSI Effect—has actually had a deleterious effect on some aspects of the investigative and prosecution processes, with jurors and other members of the public expecting a level of technological sophistication in investigations and evidence gathering that is simply not available to most (or any) agencies.

These outsized expectations also overlook one central, immutable premise of investigations: at its core, investigation is a human endeavor. The tools that exist to make a detective’s job easier or more efficient can be just as important, if not more so, than any fictional crime-solving gadgets.

Better Case Management

Some of the best investigation tools are the ones that help people work smarter. This is especially true in places where resources (both human and financial) are dwindling or holding level, as they currently are in many law enforcement agencies.

One of the most time-consuming tasks facing investigators is paperwork. The significant amount of time it takes to fill out forms and document findings not only makes for a tedious work day, but, in cases where the investigators themselves complete their own paperwork, can take away from valuable time in the field.

Net Transcripts, a transcription firm based in Arizona, can help. Unlike other more general-purpose transcription services, Net Transcripts is geared solely toward the needs of the law enforcement community.

“We got our start because of the demand for it,” said Net Transcripts CEO Gary Nudd. “There’s a fair amount of transcription that needs to be processed. Clerical staff may end up doing it, or departments might just try to fit it all in with other duties that their professionals have, or they rely on the officers themselves.”¹

According to Nudd, it costs 50 percent less to outsource transcription services than it does to hire and retain full-time employees dedicated to transcribe notes in-house. Investigators who are dictating their own notes for transcription can save 30 percent of their time in the average work week using Net Transcripts.

“There’s no up-front investment and no subscription to a system or software,” Nudd noted. “And there are a lot more efficiencies with time spent. The savings are immediate…‘Outsourcing’ used to be a bad word, but more and more, that’s not the case.”²

Net Transcripts’ transcribers speak the language of police work, Nudd said. Most Net Transcripts hires have a background in some aspect of law enforcement or public safety.

“We don’t offshore anything,” Nudd said. “A lot of other services are not as secure as they need to be, and the quality doesn’t cut it. We’re not medical or insurance or legal transcripts with law enforcement as an extra. Those kinds of businesses don’t have experience with the language of law enforcement.”³

This becomes even more important in the often imperfect, even stressful situations in which so many investigative interviews take place. “Multi-speaker interviews can be hard to figure out,” Nudd said. “They also often get captured in very poor quality conditions on the street or in the interrogation room. There is a high percentage of unintelligibles. It’s not always a controlled environment. And you have people crying or yelling in the background. It can be emotionally charged to interview someone for an investigation.”⁴

Net Transcripts becomes more proficient as it works with clients more regularly, compiling a “word index” of commonly used names and locations to ensure these terms are accurately identified and presented. The company also uses encryption and physical protocols to ensure maximum information security.

There are several other vendors available to help save time and money during the investigation process and to help detectives make connections more quickly.

For example, ONESolution software, created by Florida-based SunGard Public Sector, allows different public safety professionals to share information more quickly. Dispatchers can keep officers informed in the field as situations change, and those officers can, in turn, use that data to find patterns and identify suspects in less time. Agency leaders can also receive and use this data to help them make high-level strategic decisions.

CI Technologies, a Vancouver software company, developed CrimeNtel, a web-based interface that helps investigators compile and manage evidence from each case. All files, from Word documents to large images or videos, can be stored in the interface. There is also a built-in notification system that reminds users of upcoming deadlines.

The most recent department to adopt CrimeNtel, according to CI Technologies CEO Michael Blumberg, is the Camden County Police Department in New Jersey. “It’s the ability to go paperless,” Blumberg said of the software. “If they enter a suspect into the system who is already in the system, it gives them a heads up. It provides a means for the user to discover links or tie-ins.”⁵

Inside and Outside the Station

CI Technologies offers a variety of software packages designed to help investigations flow more quickly and more smoothly. One of its most popular offerings for law enforcement is IAPro, currently in use by more than 500 police agencies in four countries.

Unlike many other investigative tools, IAPro is not designed to help officers complete criminal investigations. Instead, it helps agencies handle internal investigations and enforce professional standards in instances of police misconduct. Given the current environment of the intense scrutiny of police conduct, internal investigative tools can begin to rival the importance of tools used for field investigations.

“A lot of times, internal investigations can head off something that can be a lot more serious,” said Blumberg. “Problems can range from being late for work to very serious offenses. Before you have a major problem happen, you can intervene and offer support or take whatever action is necessary.”⁶

CI Technologies also offers BlueTeam, a companion software to IAPro that allows users to input internal incident information from the field.

High-Tech Tools for Today’s Police

Though relatively lower-tech services can be a great supplement to any investigative team, that’s not to say that law enforcement cannot benefit from advancing knowledge and technology.

The DNAscan Rapid DNA Analysis System, developed by GE Healthcare – Life Sciences, based in Pennsylvania, is a self-contained unit dedicated to quick DNA typing right on a countertop in the booking station. The machine can simultaneously process as many as five buccal or blood swabs in less than 90 minutes, and the system does not require intensive training; a swab is inserted into a “cassette,” which is then inserted into the machine for processing.

Another company has a new product that can help officers determine whether an interview subject is telling the truth—and it’s fully portable, available on Windows PC, Droid, and IOS operating systems. Called the PSE-7010 and created by Pennsylvania’s Dektor Corporation, this software for computers or mobile devices has been designed to accurately determine truth or deception in criminal cases, employment screenings, and many types of psychological evaluations. The PSE-7010 can record interviews and then analyze vocal patterns to help officers assess the truthfulness or deceptiveness of a given individual.

Cognitec, a German firm, is a leader in face-recognition tools, providing two different products—FaceVACS-DBScan and FaceVACS-SDK. The first tool helps identify suspects or missing persons by comparing facial images in videos and photos against a database; the latter uses mobile devices to capture a photo in the field and compares it with database photos. ♦

Notes:
¹Gary Nudd (CEO, Net Transcripts), telephone interview, February 16, 2015.
²Ibid.
³Ibid.
⁴Ibid.
⁵Michael Blumberg (CEO, CI Technologies), telephone interview, February 16, 2015.
⁶Ibid.

Please cite as

Scott Harris, “Investigation Tools That Improve Efficiency at the Station and in the Field,” Product Feature, The Police Chief 82 (May 2015): 42–43.